27 Sep 2012|Noida | Amity University, Sector-125, Noida
Amity School of Engineering and Technology organises National Conference on Trends and Recent Advances in Civil Engineering (TRACE 2012)
Department of Civil Engineering, ASET organized the second edition of national conference on Trends and Recent Advances in Civil Engineering (TRACE 2012) on September 27, 2012. In the era of globalization and liberalization, the construction scenario of the country has undergone a revolutionary change. Keeping this in view, the theme of the conference focused on innovative materials, equipments and technique used in construction industry. It aimed at providing a platform where academicians, researchers and industry experts exchanged their know-how, experiences, learning and thoughts in this arena. The conference witnessed participation from eminent academicians, renowned industry experts, researchers from R&D centers, faculty and students.
The conference was inaugurated by lighting the lamp in the presence of Chief guest Mr. S.P.S. Bakshi, Chairman-cum-Managing Director of Engineers Project India Ltd., Guest of Honor Dr. B. Bhattacharjee, Professor, IIT Delhi, Prof A.K. Jairath, Dy. Director, ASET and Prof. J. Bhattacharjee, HOD (Civil), ASET and Co-Convener of TRACE 2012.
Prof. J. Bhattacharjee, HOD (Civil) & Co-Convener, TRACE 2012 presented the welcome address and introduction to the theme of TRACE 2012. He highlighted the purpose of conference in context of growing demand of houses and infrastructure facilities with increasing pace of urbanization and economic development of the country.
Dr. B. Bhattacharjee, Professor of IIT Delhi presented the keynote address, where he took the audience thru the journey of construction materials and innovation in the recent past. It was followed by the inaugural address by Mr. S.P.S. Bakshi, CMD of EPIL. He appreciated the move made by the department and explained the aptness of the theme of conference with regard to trends in construction industry. He emphasized the need of innovative material and machinery for sustainable and green construction.
Dr. Balvinder Shukla, Acting Vice Chancellor and Patron, TRACE 2012 highlighted touched the importance of staying tuned with latest developments in construction industry and explained how Engineers should strive for a sustainable and quality work.
Inaugural session was followed by first plenary session which was chaired by Prof. V.K. Mathur, Director, Amity School of Architecture and Planning. This session was dominated by lead speakers from industry and R&D centers like NTPC Ltd, Biltech Building Elements Limited, G.Tech Splicing Pvt. Ltd. and CRRI. The topic ranged from innovative materials like Prefab technology RAPIDWALL, rebar and splicing, Fly Ash and various techniques for construction of flexible and rigid pavement. The lead speakers were Mr. Rajdeep Chowdhary, Head (Sales) from BBEL, Mr. Sitaram Anjaneyulu, Senior Principal Scientist from CRRI, Mr. Ranjan S. Suri, Director of G.Tech Splicing Pvt. Ltd and Dr. S.K. Dube and Team from NTPC Ltd. At the end of session, the chairperson summarized the proceeding and seconded the speakers’ viewpoints regarding the emerging technology of prefabricated components and recycled building materials which are creating a remarkable difference in the upcoming infrastructure project.
Second plenary session was chaired by a Mr. S.K. Malik, Former Chief Engineer (MOD). This session was focused primarily on research paper presentation. The session was started with presentation by Principal Scientist from CRRI who talked about usage of fly ash in pavement and patches. It was then followed by short presentation on Tunnel Boring Machines by Mr. S.K. Bhalla from MAPIE. The research paper presentation was made across varied topics which can be summarized under three broad areas namely, new building materials, innovative techniques and challenges & issues in construction industry. In the new building material category, paper were presented with regard to usage of nano materials, high performance concrete, glass fiber reinforced gypsum (GFRG) boards, straw and bamboo reinforced concrete wall etc. The innovative technology category witnessed the papers related to various prefab technologies for sustainable construction, application of building information modeling (BIM) in construction project management, use of Geographical Information System (GIS) in construction industry and technological advancement in usage of solar energy. Discussing the challenges in construction industry, authors presented papers related to tackling labor crisis by innovating existing human resources and construction on closed landfill sites. The participants came in from various R&D centers and institutes like CSIR, Raipur Institute of Technology, Jaypee Institute of Technology and Delhi Technological College. The paper titled “Construction Industry : Innovating Existing Human Resources” by Ms. Abhya Anjan Sinha from Raipur Institute of Technology was adjudged as the Best Research Paper.
The concluding ceremony began with welcome address by Dr. K.M. Soni, Dy Director, ASET where he congratulated the organizer and participants. A brief summary report of TRACE-2012 was presented by Ms. Madhuri Kumari, Asst Professor (CE), ASET.
Mr. Sanjay Chawla, CEO of Era Landmarks Ltd. expressed his view regarding the recent advances in construction industry and appreciated the effort of Institute for organizing such an event which is very relevant in the current scenario of Infrastructure development.
Mr. C.S. Prasad, Former Director General, CPWD and Senior Vice President of Indian Building Congress acknowledged the contribution made by the department of civil engineering, ASET by conducting a one day National Conference on the upcoming trends in construction industry.